#rearmed

Not always. Yes, Capcom hired GRIN to do the awful fully 3D Bionic Commando reboot, but we also got Bionic Commando ReArmed out of that (also by GRIN), which still rates as one of the best Xbox Live Arcade games ever released, I’d say, and an early example of “hey what if we HD-ized this classic game and actually made it EVEN BETTER?” actually working.

I mean, who knows, if the Mania team tried making an original 3D Sonic game, maybe it’d be a train wreck? Maybe it would be Edgelord Dreadlocks Bionic Commando all over again? Heck, maybe Sonic Mania 2 will be similarly poorly received like Bionic Commando Rearmed 2! We just don’t know!

Game development is not just magic. It’s not a coin toss, either. It’s a very difficult balancing act and any small thing can make it tip over and fall. The real issue is that the game industry has bred a hostile environment where even a single failure means you don’t get a second chance to pick up the pieces and try again.

Finland's melodic death metallers Re-Armed has announced a EP celebrating its 20th anniversary, titled “XX”. The EP will contain five other songs in addition to today’s first single/music video release “As the Stars Align”. The EP will be released digitally via Inverse Records and it drops out on 27 January 2022.

The band comments on the new single, EP and on the band’s 20th anniversary:

‘The single’s soundscape is filled with lots of sweet melodies, while still maintaining raw energy brought by impulsive drums and highlighted growl vocals. Song lyrics continue the theme explored in the previous album; wonders of the universe and life's uniqueness… And what about the anniversary and upcoming EP release. Well, during the 20 years, the band has seen better and worse, but almighty Finnish “sisu”, aka willpower has pushed us through these years and keeps us still on the move. We want to thank everyone who has been involved in this band somehow at some point of this adventure - meaning each and everyone who brought something to the table at that point of trip. Anyhow, the best thing about the past is that it shows us what not to bring into the future - which is clearly visible and heard in the great outcome today. On the upcoming EP new winds are blowing and there will be some, let’s say “adjusted” echoes from the past.

Surprisingly balanced article in the NYT about the strange new situation in Nicaragua. Armed groups – calling themselves the “rearmed” (rearmados) have appeared in Nicaragua’s more remote and mountainous regions. They seem to have some sympathy for the Contras though the government has passed on this potentially very useful propaganda angle and prefers to steadfastly maintain that no organised armed groups exist in the country, attributing recent attacks on police patrols and army outposts to “criminal groups” (or delincuentes) instead. What these groups do appear to have in common with the Contras are ties to the drug trade.

The article doesn’t neglect the FSLN’s considerable achievements in the past decade of government but rightly also goes over some of the Ortega government’s major faults: accusations of electoral fraud, a cult of personality around Ortega himself (evidenced by his bid for permanent re-election, as opposed to passing the baton to the next generation of Sandinistas, such as the very well-like Aminta Guerrero), and cronyism and corruption (the FSLN 2.0 has allied itself to the business sector while the Ortega family appears to be accumulating personal riches). One thing the article fails to mention is the controversy over the proposed inter-oceanic canal that has turned many grassroots Sandinistas against the current party leadership.